South Windsor officials pushed off adoption of marijuana regulations Tuesday after a local farmer asked for changes allowing him to grow recreational and medical marijuana on his family’s 150-year-old farm.
“We are looking at this as another opportunity for another source of revenue to keep the farm open and pass it on to generations to come,” said Bruce Snow, of Well Flowers Farm on Strong Road.
Snow hopes to wholesale to medical and recreational dispensaries.
The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing Tuesday to collect feedback on a proposal to lift a year-long moratorium on retail marijuana sales and put into place a regulatory framework.
The proposal would have allowed “hybrid” medical and recreational retail shops in the general commercial zone, with marijuana production restricted to industrial zones. Both would be allowed by special exemption, rather than “by right,” which affords town officials more control.
Under state regulations governing licenses per community based on population, South Windsor could only have one retail cannabis and one medical dispensary until 2024, according to Town Planner Michele Lipe.
South Windsor-based medical marijuana facility Prime Wellness is seeking to establish retail sales. Lipe said she’s fielded a number of calls from others interested in growing or sales of marijuana in South Windsor.
Under the proposal reviewed Tuesday, retail sales would require buffers of at least 500 feet from municipal buildings, public parks, public recreation facilities, licensed adult care centers, licensed child care centers, substance dependency treatment centers and places of worship. They would require 1,000-foot buffers from nursery schools, pre-kindergarten centers, public schools and colleges.
The proposal would also require retail cannabis outlets to be located on collector or arterial roads, basically Sullivan Avenue or the Route 5 corridor, Lipe said.
Peter DeMallie, president of South Windsor-based engineering firm Design Professionals, asked the commission to allow marijuana “micro-cultivation” on farms of at least 50 acres in the rural residential zone. DeMallie represented Snow, who hopes to build a 9,000-square-foot greenhouse for marijuana growth.
“We are only talking about small operations,” DeMallie said. “We are not talking about large operations. It’s on a farm to help with the revenue streams for operations. For how many centuries have we grown tobacco in this town? It’s part of our fabric.”
DeMallie submitted two letters and a 130-name petition supporting his proposal.
Commission members were largely in favor of Snow and DeMallie’s proposal, but have lingering questions they want answered first – such as how regulations would preclude light pollution from the operation. Lipe also hoped to check with South
Windsor police to determine if there were security issues to be addressed.
In light of lingering questions, as well as major changes to the proposed regulations, the commission opted to keep the public hearing open. It was tentatively extended to May 24.
“I like this idea of making it available to farmers to have another source of income,” commission member Stephen Wagner said. “I know that is a business that isn’t always a high profit business.”
